Perth foodies hot for raw food

Reporter, WA Today

Clinton and Kira Smith took up eating raw food after the birth of their daughter Indiana.

It might mean waiting 12 hours for a pizza, or having to deal with bloating or flatulence, but raw food diets are becoming a hit in Perth.

Moving away from processed foods and taking meals back to their most basic form, adopting a raw food lifestyle has been hailed for its nutritional benefits.

Raw food enthusiast Clinton Smith is the administrator of the Facebook page Perth Raw Foodies.His interest in a simpler diet came from having his first child.

Raw food is food in its simplest form, it is uncooked or not heated above 40 degrees.

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"It's living food, like fruit and vegetables with living enzymes, not what you buy in a packet from supermarkets, which is essentially dead food," Mr Smith said.

He has been eating raw food for a couple of years and became a vegetarian a couple of years before that.

"We just had a baby and we wanted to bring her up healthily and in a way that we could teach her about where food comes from."

He said because raw food was nutrient dense it meant it broke down a lot easier and helped to clean the digestive tract.

"It's high in fibre and aids in cleaning the digestive tract and keeping the body clean," Mr Smith said.

"Other more processed foods get held up in the large intestine."

He said people who ate raw food ate a lot more nuts, seeds and pulses to replace food such as rice, pasta or bread.

Honey, agave or stevia is used instead of sugar or sweeteners.

Mr Smith said there was some potential for side effects from switching to a raw food diet but said if people were well informed they could ensure they included a variety of foods that provided all the necessary nutrients for a balanced diet.

"Like if someone goes vegan or vegetarian they have to do it properly, if you just east salad all day, you will get tired," he said.

Some people may experience lethargy, issues with digestion, flatulence or bloating but Mr Smith said once these things were identified, they could be fixed by adding or subtracting different elements into the diet.

"Combining foods creates wind and gas in the stomach, so you might get bloated if you mix everything," he said.Mr Smith said if done well, raw food eaters did not need to take any supplements.

Richard Choong, WA President of Australian Medical Association said while he wouldn't recommend the diet to everyone, eating raw food was much healthier and more varied than most Australian diets - which can be very high in processed food.

"There are not a lot of disadvantages, in fact there are probably more advantages in a raw diet."

Dr Choong said eating food raw took away the processing element, which is a relatively new introduction in the human diet.

"My only concern in the diet is the lack of meat. Humans are not meant to be herbivores, we are omnivores."

"In the long-term there is a risk of having a deficiency of certain types of amino acids that are only found in meat," he said.

Last year health professionals expressed concern about the safety of drinking raw milk because of bacteria in it that they say can cause health issues.

Mr Smith said eating out could be expensive for a raw food eater.He said a raw pizza could cost about $60.

"That accounts for the effort it takes to make the food," Mr Smith said.

"A raw pizza has to spend 12 hours in a dehydrator, so the process of making it is half a day.

"But on the other hand, raw food is so nutrient dense, you can have just one piece and you're full, you are not trying to fill your stomach."

Mr Smith said a lot of raw food eaters grew their own food at home to make it cheaper.

He said many raw food eaters also tried to stick to organic products, which added cost.People try but not many eat purely raw food.

Mr Smith said he thought more people were becoming interested in raw food because Perth as a whole was being exposed to different things.

"People are more open to it and everyone knows someone who has had cancer or diabetes or other diseases and realise that food could have played a part," he said.

"People want to get back to basics and avoid processed food."

"We all know and understand that fresh, unprocessed food is good for us, it's not a hard diet to understand, it's easy."

8 comments so far

Excellent idea...should be made compulsory for all the fat kids and teenagers you see wolfing down chips and very suspect fast foods at any supermarket....But thats not going to happen as Mum and Dad are probably pigging out at home on the same menu. Raw vegies and fruit should be available in School canteens and readly available in Restaurants...anyway,whats wromg with a bit of flatulence ?...

Commenter

Jack Sparrow

Location

Perth

Date and time

March 04, 2013, 8:20AM

I eat loads of raw food but you must be careful. Always remember to wash the food carefully and always be aware that it is in some cases the cooking process that kills the bacteria.Know what you are doing is the order of the day otherwise you can make yourself very ill.

Commenter

The Green Eye

Location

Rural WA

Date and time

March 04, 2013, 9:25AM

You are absolutely correct. The main thing is to eat FRESH fruit a n vegies...not something that has been in some supermarket freezer for the last month...there are plenty of marketts around that have good quality fresh fruit and vegies and at cheaper prices than supermarkets..When preparing fresh products its most important to wash thoroughly or you may soon end up with a bad stomach. Dont add any salt,vinegar or sauces. Better still grow your own produce.

Commenter

Jack Sparrow

Location

Perth

Date and time

March 04, 2013, 11:16AM

Bit of a mixed article - good points about the healthy aspects of raw food (but buried halfway down the article) while the first sentence points out the length of preparation and unpleasant effects on your body. Couple of points in return:a) I've never had any bloating or negative effects from raw food, and don't know anyone else that has. Perhaps this is a result of withdrawal from fatty, salty, over-processed fast food (like pizza) rather than eating simple, healthy, fresh food.b) Pizza? you pick out a dish that is complicated to prepare and use that as an example. Not all raw food is pretending to be unhealthy fast foodc) Typo: "Agavia" is a brandname for a tequila that uses "agave" (the natural sweetener that you meant to reference)d) The AMA pushing the message that humans are "meant" to eat meat because we're omnivores? In fact, by definition, being omnivores means that we _don't_ have to eat meat. If we were carnivores (which we are not, by a long stretch of the imagination), then we would be "meant" to eat meat.e) long-term effects? Missing amino acids? I've been vegan for more than 20 years, and I've no ill effects from skipping eating animal tissue. Where are the studies demonstrating some sort of a mysterious lack of nutrition?f) eating out as a raw vegan is not only expensive, it can be impossible. It's difficult in Perth to even find anything imaginative that is _cooked_ vegan food (although it's getting better, slowly)

Overall, though, good work on covering a food choice that doesn't get much coverage in the main stream press.

Commenter

Shane

Location

Perth

Date and time

March 04, 2013, 10:47AM

Excellent points,thank you.

Commenter

Kane

Date and time

March 04, 2013, 12:37PM

Yeah...raw food, like, totes amaze...The rest of the developed world consumed, digested and then passed that fad about 10 years ago.Maybe they are just preparing their daughter for when it's uber cool again in 2030.

Commenter

Padrino

Location

Ellivarray

Date and time

March 04, 2013, 12:21PM

Raw foods are definitely healthier, especially salads, smoothies, juices, nuts & seeds, raw desserts & raw main courses. Eating fresh vegetables and fruits everyday is a good way to start. About us being born to eat meat is wrong, for generations millions of people across the world have been and are vegetarians or vegans (especially in India), they all have lived and do live a very healthy lifestyle. In fact we humans do not have K-9s like animals to eat meat nor do we similar digestive system to process meat easily. Vegetarian/vegan/raw foods are always healthier for us. You can get vitamins, minerals, proteins, amino acids etc., from fruits, vegetables, herbs, tofu/tempeh, seeds, nuts, legumes and beans.

Commenter

FlowerGoddess

Location

Perth

Date and time

March 04, 2013, 4:06PM

I can't see many people taking a giant leap from processed unhealthy rubbish to raw foods - you'd probably have those that are already vegan, vegetarian or eat minimal meat as the likely candidates. But for the average person, at least taking small steps towards healthier foods is a good start. More fresh fruit and veg, nuts, legumes etc. But the occasional treat is also good for the soul!

Will be interesting to see how the kid goes when she starts going to kids parties with cupcakes, sausage rolls, lollies and pizzas!

Also, why not ask a Dietitian for an opinion, as opposed to asking the head of the doctor's union for this opinion? Doctors spend a matter of weeks studying nutrition as part of their degrees - Dietitians spend 4 years doing so.